DAY VISITS FOR PUPILS, STAFF & FAMILIES
A well planned day visit can gently support the personal development and engagement of the whole school community. They can be delivered at our centres, school grounds, or a site nearby, and provide an opportunity to address emerging school priorities.
Day visits at the centres are available from £11pp for school groups., and £35pp for staff teams development.
A day visit is an opportunity to see a different side to a student, develop the relationship, to watch them interact and build confidence. At the end of a visit to our centres you’ll understand the children even better.
And we know that a solid foundation for the whole school community - meaningful work with children, a connected & motivated staff team, and engaged families - is key to an incredible start to the school year.
To help make the most of different learning opportunities, any of our day visits can be designed to:
support the rebuilding of friendships and social engagement
address and equip pupils to respond to issues linked to coronavirus (COVID-19)
support pupils with approaches to improving their physical and mental wellbeing"
Every programme is tailored to suit emerging school priorities and the needs of the individuals in the group; our approach is to always as ask "what do you want your group to achieve". Below, we have outlined some ideas and potential areas of support.
PUPILS
Tried & tested programmes and ideas include:
FUN - Serious fun!
When we ask teachers about the aim of their visit, it's amazing (and brilliant) how often the answer is that "we want to just get together and have fun!". We can do that. All of the programmes are fun, and there are so many valuable lessons within that too. Programmes include the chance to try something new or different, and stick at it.
Transition
Outcomes include learning about self, strengths, working with others, collaboration, engagement & resilience.
Wellbeing
Using Sandwell's "Feelgood 6": Connect with others, learn a new skill, move around more, notice the small things, talk, and share things with others.
Creative and Expressive Arts
Drama, visual art, music and dance provide a perfect chance for pupils to imagine, create, explore a topic, express themselves and realise their creative potential.
Outdoor Education
Making the most of our incredible surroundings, classic outdoor education sessions include discovery and exploration, orienteering, team work & problem solving, trails and treks in the woodland and hills.
Days can also be used to enrich the curriculum - science, literacy, maths, drama and art for example. You bring us a subject or topic and we'll bring it to life!
Some ideas for starters are:
Animal Habitats & Homes
Stone Age Explorers
Learning about the environment
Living Stories (eg Spiderwick, Stick Man etc)
Bear Hunting for Beginners / Teddy Bears Picnic
Pirates!
Christmas Wonder / A Christmas Carol
Olympians: we can be heroes!
Mastering Maps
STAFF TEAMS
Exciting learning moments are there for staff teams too!
Taking these experiences back to the workplace can bring positive change to the culture of your schools. Imagine your staff team having shared a memorable experience together, with a facilitated review on a hillside, or after creating a collaborative piece of art.
Or maybe it's just time to get back together and do something fun. You can read more about our work with teachers on the link below.
“I would definitely recommend organising a team building day - the centre will make it bespoke to your requirements, refreshments and lunch were nice and tasty, and the group leaders were motivational and encouraging”
Emma Burnell, Headteacher
Tividale Community Primary School
FAMILY LEARNING DAYS
Family Learning Days are an active day planned with schools, which gently and creatively develop parental engagement through shared outdoor experiences and play at Edgmond Hall or Frank Chapman Centre. It gives staff, parents and their children the opportunity to explore, discover, learn and have fun together.
Normally delivered at weekends, activities could include:
Woodland trails
Shelter building in the woods
Meeting & feeding the animals (eg hens, goats, rabbits & guinea pigs)
Team games and challenges
Barefoot Walk
Sticky postcards
Nature art.
“This was the most amazing trip I've been on for the children's outcomes and what they learned in a day”
Assistant Headteacher - day visit at Ingestre Hall
We have plenty of tried & tested programmes, but you know your children, parents and school priorities best so we are always ready to tailor delivery to suit the needs of the group we are working with.
Typical outcomes for pupils include:
Independence
Making new friends / improved relationships
Improving mental health & wellbeing
Confidence
Resilience
Encouraging creativity and resourcefulness
Deeper understanding of a topic
Curriculum links: eg science, or history
We'll make sure the programme is fully integrated with your school curriculum and ethos, inclusive, designed to meet specific learning needs, and planned so that learning can be embedded and reinforced back at school.
High Quality & Great Value:
We are taking bookings and reservations for day visits from the summer term 2021 onwards. Day visits are available from £11pp for Sandwell schools, and £13pp for schools outside of Sandwell, based on a minimum group size.
* £11pp is for visits to our outdoor centres and a day of problem solving / team building activities. We would need to apply an additional charge to cover costs for programmes that include drama, art. music and dance, high ropes, climbing; and also for programmes delivered outside of our centres. The offer is subject to available dates and appropriate staff ratios. We're trying to support all schools equally and fairly, so please bear with us as we try to reach as many young people from as many schools as possible!
A: Absolutely. We would need to charge a bit more to visit you, but yes. If it's possible to visit our centres though, we believe that it enhances the experience.
It's also subject to date and staff availability.
A: A "normal" (off-the-shelf) day for pupils is:
10:30 - arrival & intro
10:45 - morning session
12:30 - lunch and play
13:00 - afternoon session
14:30 - depart
We can adjust this; longer days would just cost a bit more. Up to £16pp for example.
Pupils:
£11pp is for children (Sandwell residents) / £13pp (non-Sandwell residents) coming on a school day visit to one of our outdoor centres in Summer or Autumn term 2021. Programmes at Ingestre Arts are available from £20pp.
Longer days cost a bit more and sometimes there is additional prep required, so it's up to £16pp for a fully tailored programme.
"High activities" such as climbing, and high ropes at Frank Chapmen Centre are £18pp because we need additional staff to run those.
There would be a charge to cover costs for programmes delivered outside of our centres. Please enquire and we'll send you a proposal.
Staff team days:
Staff days cost £35pp with a buffet lunch. At the time of writing (24/2/21) we don't know if we can provide the food, so it may well be less! And certainly less if you bring a packed lunch.
Families
Family Day Visits (organised by school) are £500 for up to 50 people, and will be available when national guidance allows.
All prices and offers are subject to local and national restrictions, availability and staffing ratios. Also, we are trying to reach all schools fairly so we may need to cap pupil numbers.
A: We are owned and managed by Sandwell Council, a local authority in the West Midlands.
All delivery and practice will comply with the most recent Covid-19 health guidance, working with groups established by each school. More about our Covid-19 response.
Book with confidence: We do not ask for a deposit, and if your visit cannot go ahead due to Covid-19 guidelines then there will be no charge at all.
Deep cleaning, distancing: Our colleagues in Public Health have helped schools return to action and will be helping us to take all appropriate measures around deep cleaning between visits.
Toilets & handwashing: There is a lot of flexibility around all of our venues so we'll let you know how many toilets and sinks are available to your group based on your numbers and chosen venue, and we'll manage it on the day.
Contact Form:
So that the right person gets back to you, could you let us know please: